Awards & Recognition

GreenBuild Pilot Builder Award- 2008

Taggart Construction wins Pilot Builder Award at 2008 Greenbuild: “The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) closed-out its first-ever Green Homebuilder’s Day at the 2008 Greenbuild International Conference & Expo in Boston, Mass. with an awards ceremony and reception that recognized excellence in residential green building. Green Homebuilder’s Day Awards celebrated homebuilders and projects that best executed innovation in technology, construction and design while reinforcing the value of responsible and sustainable homebuilding techniques.”

“The Pilot Builder Award recognizes a builder whose achievements during the LEED for Homes Pilot program contributed greatly to the development of the program itself. Taggart Construction of Freeport, Maine is this year’s recipient, and built the first LEED for Homes project certified in the country. Additionally, Taggart Construction President Peter Taggart has been instrumental in promoting the LEED for Homes program, not only as a builder but also as a local advocate.”

Awarded LEED Gold Certification- 2007

The Jordan Meadows house in Gorham, Maine was custom designed and built by Taggart Construction. After reading The Not So Big House, a book by Sarah Susanka, the owners decided they wanted an energy efficient, environment friendly, smaller (1,700 sq. ft.) home for their new empty nest lifestyle. The owners also wanted to create a permaculture surrounding their home. Permaculture is about land use that strives for a balanced integration of the home, the climatic conditions on the owner’s land, annual and perennial plants, animals, soils, and water into a stable, productive community. Taggart Construction, a pioneer in efficient and effective use of energy, reducing a home’s impact on the natural environment and minimizing negative health effects to building occupants teamed with these environmentally responsible owners. Together they achieved LEED Gold Certification – Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. LEED is the nationally accepted benchmark of the U.S. Green Building Council for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. In summing up their experience of designing and building this unique home, the owner said, “Taggart Construction has been wonderful to work with. We ended up hugging everyone.”

First LEED Certified Home in USA- 2006

The Pleasant Hill House in Freeport, Maine did not start out seeking LEED certification. LEED was a new program and just getting a foothold in the green building industry. After hearing about LEED certification halfway through the building process, it was decided to pursue certification since the house was already being built as a high performance home. The result is a home that strikes a balance between high performance, appearance and functionality, and is the first LEED certified home in the USA. This is a home that outperforms virtually everything in its class. The Pleasant Hill House has R-27 walls and an R-60 roof, high performance windows, FSC-certified framing lumber and includes renewable building materials appropriate for this project. Built on a reclaimed gravel pit surrounded by a meadow, the home was sited for both active and passive solar with radiant heat flooring. It is warm during Maine winters while using less energy than a comparably sized home. It also remains relatively cool without air-conditioning in the summer due to a combination of passive and active ventilation. “The house is totally comfortable,” the owner says. “We get a beautiful breeze up here in the afternoon, and at the same time we feel like we’re doing the right thing. That’s a nice feeling.”

Media Coverage

Early Adopter by Katy Kelleher

“Long before disruptor became a buzzword and businesses began singing the praises of “out of the box” thinking, Peter Taggart was, to use another cliché, marching to the beat of his own drum. For over 28 years, he has been at the forefront of the green building movement, promoting sustainable building materials, passive heating, and conscientious restoration.”

Maine Home + Design, March 2016

Barn Again by E. Ashley Rooney

“The clients wished to change their barn into a year round, energy-efficient home suitable for retirement. The resulting site plan developed with Taggart Construction is based on the pattern of a farm dooryard.” Quahog Bay Farm, our project, can be found on pages 82-87.

published by Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 2010

True Green Home by Kim McKay & Jenny Bonnin

“True Green Home is the perfect tool for anyone looking to reduce his or her carbon footprint. Timely and smart, it’s an actionable guide that provides us all with easy to implement strategies for safeguarding our outstretched environment.” Case studies on Taggart Construction’s Pleasant Hill Home (pages 106 & 107), Jordan Meadows Home (pages 130 & 131).

published by National Geographic Society, 2009

Profiles in Green by David Holbrook

“When I started Taggart Construction in 1994, I’d already been going to building-science workshops and doing a lot of research in environmental issues. I knew I wanted to pursue better, higher-performing buildings. In 2005, we designed and built the first LEED-certified house in the nation, the Pleasant Hill Home. We’d been in business 10 years when we built that house, so it wasn’t our first green house — it was simply our next green house.”

Journal of Light Construction, April 2009

Green by Design by Virginia Wright

“Homeowners who want to do the right thing for the environment should not be in a hurry to sell their houses in order to build new high-performance ones, advises Peter Taggart. Older homes, like this 1840 farmhouse, represent significant embodied energy, so updating their systems is almost always a more sustainable strategy than building new.” View article.

Down East, March 2009

Bright Ideas for Green Living by Arricca Elin SanStone

“When Tom Snyder and his wife, Lee, decided to build their dream home in Gorham, Maine, they were determined to make it green – that is, as earth-friendly as possible. ‘We had discussed the idea for years and knew we wanted an energy-efficient home that would have minimal impact on the environment,’ says Snyder. . . Even older homes can benefit from easy environmental upgrades. ‘A few simple steps can make your current home more efficient and comfortable,’ says Peter W. Taggart, president of Taggart Construction, Inc., the green builder in Freeport, Maine.”

Cooking Light, January/February 2008

Sustainable Effort by Bruce Snider

“This may be the moment that Peter Taggart has been waiting for. Committed to sustainable building practices since long before green became everyone’s favorite color, the Freeport, Maine, builder toiled for years. . .he has refined his building methods, serving the limited market for energy-efficient, resource-conserving, healthy custom homes. He has also contributed countless hours of pro-bono work to the green cause (a longtime board member of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association, Taggart is slated to assume chairmanship of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Maine chapter). At conferences and seminars he has freely shared what a less high-minded professional might consider trade secrets. ‘He really has created a niche for himself,’ says architect Lynn Shaffer, who chose Taggart to build her own home. . .”

Custom Home, November/December 2007

Ahead of the Curve by Matt Power

“When builder Peter Taggart set to work on this 2,300-square foot custom home on a rural hilltop in Freeport, Maine, he began, as he always does, by focusing on what really matters – performance.

That emphasis resulted in a home that outperforms virtually anything in its class, with R-27 walls, an R-60 roof, high-performance Anderson Windows®, FSC-certified 2×6-inch framing lumber, and a long list of durable, renewable materials and products. . .It’s the first home in the nation to achieve a silver certification under LEED® for Homes (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program, a new, high-performance building standard created by the U.S. Green Building Council.

For Peter Taggart, ‘green’ building is not a marketing gimmick or simply a way to trump his competition. It’s a driving force in his business. . .”

Ultimate Home Design, November/December 2006

Green Meets Blue by Charles Wardell

“People who live on islands understand the meaning of scarce resources and may be more aware of a home’s environmental impact than the average suburbanite. This marketing assumption panned out for Peter Taggart when he secured the job on Chebeague Island, Maine, of building what he calls ‘the most environmentally sensitive home we’ve done to date.’ That’s saying a lot. Taggart Construction of Freeport, Maine, has been pushing the green building envelope for a decade. Taggart serves on the board of the Maine Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, and has served as president of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA), a network of green builders and designers who share information with one another. ‘For years we’ve sent staff to the annual NESEA conferences in March,’ he says. ‘What we’ve learned is incorporated into this house. . .”

Coastal Contractor, Winter 2005

Solid Foundation by Avery Yale Kamila

“After buying a gently sloping, south-facing lot in the Mill Stream conservation subdivision, the couple asked their realtor to recommend a contractor who knew how to build an eco-friendly home. This led them straight to Peter Taggart, who owns Taggart Construction in Freeport.

‘My son and I interviewed him,’ Mort says and recalls that after the meeting ended, ‘my son said this guy is doing everything right.’
Soon Mort and Evelyn hired Taggart Construction to build their home. . .”

The Community Leader, December 30, 2004

Healthy Homes by Muriel L. Hendrix

“Peter Taggart, who owns Taggart Construction, Inc., recently opened an Environmental Building Center at his company’s location on South Street in Freeport. In addition to being constructed with earth-friendly, sustainably harvested and energy efficient materials, the center incorporates many healthy home features that are helpful for people that have MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivity). . .”

Portland Press Herald, June 2, 2000

Member Business Profile: Taggart Construction by David P. Robinson

“Peter Taggart, the president and owner of Taggart Construction, is something of a contradiction. On one hand, he evidences a passion for quality and detail that is in many ways a throwback to an era when craftspeople took enormous pride in the details and quality of their work. On the other hand, he is literally in the modern forefront of building science, implementing cutting-edge methods in his own projects and influencing the industry through active participation in trade groups. . .”

Maine Businesses for Social Responsibility, Summer 1996

Environmentally Correct Housebuilding for the 90’s by Jan Grieco

“Advances in technology have come so quickly that building a house nowadays almost necessitates an interpreter. If that’s where you’re at, Peter Taggart of Freeport, owner of Taggart Construction, is kind of a guru of environmentally sensible building, renovating and consulting.

Taggart, who’s been in the building trades for more than 20 years, took a somewhat new approach about five years ago. He began building homes that offered lower energy and maintenance costs, healthier living spaces, and that were built with a respect for the environment. . .”